Extending the shelf life of oyster mushrooms using a low-cost designed, calibrated, and tested fuzzy logic-based UV-C disinfection system

This paper describes the designing, calibrating, and testing of a low-cost and automated UV-C disinfection system to solve the problems faced by rural oyster mushroom farmers in Indonesia. This commodity is widely cultivated in many areas in Indonesia to empower the economic growth of their communities. Infection by Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria reduces their shelf life to only five days after harvest, causing a significant production loss of up to 30% in 2023. Efficient disinfection can prolong the shelf life, which eventually improves the farmer’s income. The proposed system consisted of four 15-watt UV-C lamps, temperature and humidity sensors, and a Raspberry Pi 3B+ microcontroller. A Mamdani fuzzy inference system was implemented to improve disinfection time, which allows precise control of the required exposure to enhance disinfection efficacy. Results showed that 20-50 sec of UV-C exposure observed to significantly reduced 50-75% of infected bacteria at 24 h after exposure. Further reduction up to 83-93% and 96-99.9% was further observed for the next 48 h and 72 h, respectively. A double shelf life can be attained by storing the exposed samples at room temperature, and 3-4 times even longer when stored in refrigerator. These results prove that the designed system worked well to extend the shelf life of perishable agricultural products.